Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow

I start singing the song in my head just seeing the cover! Very sweet lyrics to a sweet tune. I tidbit about the animal on each page. Kids learn the names of the artic animals and a little fact about them. I love, love, love this book!

I liked this combination of a counting book, learning about Arctic animals book, and finding hidden animals book. The hidden animals essentially double the number of Arctic animals included in the book to twenty. I am VERY pleased that the book stuck to Arctic animals and did not throw in penguins. It has been so difficult to find a book that does not mix up Antarctica and the Arctic animals in the same book. My main complaints are that the side column with the text has a VERY busy/textured looking background that really taxes the eyes when reading and to make it worse, the artist added pale purple snowflakes to that already overwhelming background making it even harder to focus on the words. Further, the artist put pink/purple lines coming off the polar bears which can look like blood to some kids, large spirals on the rabbits which is irritating to the eyes, icicles above the foxes so it appears the cave is actually a mouth about to eat them, baby owls were way too small for the parent esp when they are all flying, and there are a couple pages where the colors on the main animals were not distinct enough from the background colors (blue on blue or brown on brown). I just felt the artist lacked someone giving a critical eye to their work since little kids would be viewing it and kids have strong imaginations.

Every teacher needs this book. It's not just for young grades who are learning to count, but for older grades who are learning about organisms, habitats, and the animal kingdom!! It is so chalk full of information! The opportunities to use it in the classroom abound! The illustrations are amazing! The song is wonderful, and easy for children to learn, not to mention that it is a melody that many children already know. The best buy!

Great illustrations. Good exposure to different Arctic animals.

A fun book with lots of education about the Aric and the animals that live there plus beautiful artwork. Spans a wide age range for interest, can grow with your child.

Over in the Arctic by Marianne Berkes is a delightful addition to my collection of polar books. The rhyming verse and 1-10 counting are perfect for the age I teach. The soft illustrations by Jill Dubin are inviting and soothing.

Used as an intro to an art lesson. Good book. I can't believe they require a minimum amount of words. Crazy. They want an opinion and then ask for so many words. What are they nuts!

Several layers of information...layout was a little confusing.

Love this series.